ONBOARD CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE — A sunny weekend sailing south from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean matched the joyful and buoyant mood of the 398 participants attending The Travel Agent Next Door’s annual conference, the largest to date and taking place this week onboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette.
TTAND founder and President, Flemming Friisdahl, kicked off the first morning session for Conference, under the banner ‘Leading the Way’, talking about measures of success, and how knowledge is power – these days more than ever.
The positive outlook, hard work and best practices from TTAND in 2025 have resulted in numerous accolades such as Air Canada’s Platinum Circle of Excellence and multiple awards from Celebrity Cruises including Partner of the Year Canada for the third time.
Travel advisors and suppliers from across Canada toasted to a new year and several big projects on the horizon, including the debut of TTAND’s first Conference app. There were also shout-outs for three travel advisors celebrating birthdays this week onboard the ship.
The buzzy chatter of Saturday night’s cocktail party and a sumptuous multi-course dinner in Celebrity Silhouette’s elegant Grand Cuvee Restaurant was also awash with discussions of something else: Friisdahl’s distinctive moustache (read on for more).
Yesterday’s morning session kicked off with a warm acknowledgement of the 28 members strong of the TTAND support team, who diligently planned this Conference over the course of many months, to ensure no detail was overlooked.
Next the spotlight shone on TTAND’s top performers. A lucky 13 individuals were recognized for their successes in the past year, and three top performers were celebrated for achieving $216,000+ in commissions: Edward Infanti of Avanti Cruises, TTAND’s Serina Bowles and Samantha Bosca of Travel Makes Memories.
Top performers in attendance …
- Glen Kennedy and Frances Gertsch, Stewart Travel Group
- Garth Layden, Elevation Travel and Tours
- Kiki Lin, Kiki Vacations
- Sylvette Deveau, Deveau Travel
- Cindy Almond, Romance and Foodie Travel
- Shelley Cota, Shelley’s Sun and Fun Travel
- Ola Honeysett Travel Leaders
Top performers not in attendance …
- Mike Gilmore, Tailwind Travel
- Jennifer Perry, Allonsy Travel
- Valerie Paton, BF Travel
- Wendy Weir, Farmstead Travel
- Christine McFarlane, Regal Cruises and Travel
With 56 suppliers representing 46 travel companies, there are four newbie suppliers presenting this year: Club Med, Explora Journeys, Flexpay by Upgrade and Universal Orlando Resort.
The supplier presentations were led by host Celebrity Cruises Canada, with Allan Brooks, National Director, Sales – Canada, Brenda Yeomans, Key Account Manager, Sales – Canada and Chad Kowalenko, Field Sales Manager, Western Canada shown in a video soaring above Celebrity ships – and then appearing live on Celebrity Silhouette’s theatre stage amid swirls of white smoke, sporting traditional German attire as they proudly shared details and renderings of the new Celebrity River Cruises fleet, setting sail in 2027.
Another ‘lucky 13’ awards were given by TTAND to honour suppliers from the past year, with ACV receiving four, including most supportive tour operator partner, best overall training program, best overall preferred supplier program and most supportive BDM team. The Armstrong Collective / Rocky Mountaineer were first-time winners for the most supportive speciality partner.
Here’s a look …
- G Adventures – Most supportive tour operator partner
- Celebrity Cruises – Most supportive ocean cruise partner
- AmaWaterways – Most supportive river cruise partner
- HX – Most supportive expedition partner
- Goway – Most supportive FIT supplier partner
- Expedia TAAP – Most supportive hotel only partner
- World of Hyatt Inclusive Collection – Most supportive hotel / resort partner
- Armstrong Collective / Rocky Mountaineer – Most supportive speciality partner
- Sunwing Vacations – Best overall approved supplier partner
- Air Canada Vacations – Most supportive tour operator partner
- Air Canada Vacations – Best overall training program
- Air Canada Vacations – Best overall preferred supplier program
- Air Canada Vacations – Most supportive BDM team
Yesterday’s session also included a presentation by Travel Counsellors, previewing the new relationship between this UK-based company and TTAND. Travelweek will have more information this week on this partnership.
An integral part of TTAND is charity, and this year many Conference participants will be taking part in a Give Back Day outreach activity on Wednesday in Aruba, with TTAND and co-sponsor TravelBrands making a donation for $7,500. Another close-to-the-heart project for TTAND is Canadian charity Pencils for Kids, which to date has received $388,394 from TTAND, benefitting their ongoing projects to build classrooms for kindergarten and grade one students in Niger.
Speaking of giving back – here’s a bit of news on that moustache Friisdahl is sporting. A personal bet between Friisdahl and a good friend to raise money for Pencils for Kids led to a challenge presented to conference participants: Who would make a donation to have Friisdahl shave off the moustache?
Starting at $100, a spirited and impromptu bidding war led to $1,700 donated by Shelley Cota of Shelley’s Sun and Fun Travel. That was quickly followed up by an additional donation by G Adventures’ David Green – for $1,500, to delay the moustache’s removal until Monday. It’s all to benefit Pencil for Kids, currently on a $100,000 fundraising campaign.
Watch for more updates from Celebrity Silhouette and The Travel Agent Next Door 2026 Conference this week in Travelweek Daily (including the status of the moustache).
Lead image caption: Close to 400 travel advisors are onboard Celebrity Silhouette this week for The Travel Agent Next Door’s 2026 Conference (all photos courtesy Dan Galbraith)
